


Discussion

by YukiSkyes



Series: Tales From the Mountains of Odvirkast [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 02:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10295591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukiSkyes/pseuds/YukiSkyes
Summary: It wasn't long after the rockslide and already there were problems. As always, it's Keith's fault.





	

“There, that should do it.”

Final knot tied, Pidge (as he introduced while he mercilessly set his bones over his _screams_ _of_ _agony_ ) patted his shoulder just above his splinted arm.

Over his shoulder, a round rock floated in the air and actually chirped like a bird. Yeah, that’s weird. Just as weird as...

“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Thanks…”

Lance was taught a lot by his mom not to stare at people and his older sister would’ve smacked him in the back of his head for being so rude but… holy shit! There were feathers growing out of the place where his ears were supposed to be! And he had _wings!_ And let’s not get started on the legs (bird legs! He could rip people apart with his _feet!_ )

“Do I have something on my face?” Pidge asked, lifting a brow. He was smirking and his tone was light and teasing, but Lance still flushed in embarrassment at being caught out.

“No! No, there’s nothing wrong with your face! Or any part of your head! O-or your body for that matter! Everything’s fine!” Lance squeaked and then he felt himself turn even hotter when his voice betrayed him. Stupid voice.

He heard a snort from across the room and he craned his head up to try to glare at stupid _Keith._ Maybe if he did it hard enough, daggers would fly out of the air even though he couldn’t see him, like that one saying or whatever.

“Right,” Pidge said slowly, drawing out the word and making Lance focus back on him. “I’m assuming you’ve never seen an Aviaer before.”

“Umm… No? I’ve heard stories though,” Lance admitted with a sheepish grin.

Pidge spread his arms and his wings with a plain expression. “Ta-da.”

Lance snorted a laugh. “You’re pretty cool.”

Pidge grinned back. “Thanks, you’re pretty cool yourself.”

“So… How’s Hunk?”

He turned his head in the direction of his best friend still lying unconscious a few feet to his left even through his screams of pain. It worried him.

Pidge nibbled his lip. “I don’t know. He should be fine. There was blood but…” He glanced behind himself towards where Keith, the guy who treated Hunk, was.

“The wound wasn’t deep,” he offered oh-so informatively.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that makes me feel so much better.”

“What else do you want me to say?” He sounded irritated but then again, that was probably his default.

“A little more detail would be nice!”

“Do I look like a healer to you?”

“Guys,” came the low rumble outside the open door and Lance immediately shut up. So did Keith. You just didn’t mess with the dragon (and great Laktu he’s still not over that oh Laktu).

“I know this isn’t ideal for everyone, but until Hunk wakes up, we’ll have to make do,” he said in a surprisingly soothing way. “In the meantime, we’re going to have to start thinking of living arrangements since we don’t know how long Hunk and Lance will be here.”

Keith made a noise from the back of his throat that was half protest and half groan. Yeah, as if Lance was _real_ thrilled about the thought of staying longer than he had to either.

“Yeah, I don’t think food’s going to be a problem with spring on its way, but this place is too small and they’ve taken the only two beds we have,” Pidge said.

“Sorry,” Lance apologized, suddenly very aware of the fact that this place was sparse but kind of cramped, barely fit for two people let alone four... plus a lērus. How in Fel did Keith tame one again? Scratch that. How was he even alive? Lērus were notoriously temperamental and territorial. Cross one and you’d be lucky to crawl away with just a mauling. Actually, that described Keith to a T so maybe they were relatives and that’s how they got along. Ha!

“Nah, it’s okay. I crashed here a few months ago and I’ve never been sorry since,” Pidge told him unashamedly.

Lance laughed. He really liked Pidge.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” protested the spoilsport. “This is my house.”

Lance began, “Your house is—”

“Say anything about my house and I’m dumping you out,” Keith said flatly.

Lance closed his mouth. As much as it was small, he kind of liked not moving or sleeping outside in the still-cold air at the moment, thanks.

“No one’s dumping anyone out,” though Shiro sounded amused by that. “But if you’d like, Pidge and Keith, you could come sleep with me outside. I could block the wind from making it too chilly and my wings could shield you if it rains.”

Pidge perked up at that. “Really?”

“Aw, no fair. You get to sleep with the dragon,” Lance complained because that sounded cool.

“Shiro isn’t some sort of attraction,” Keith snapped, like the jerk he was.

What—?!

“I wasn’t saying he was,” Lance shot back, struggling to sit up without jostling his limbs. “What’s your problem anyway?”

He could see Keith with a dead serious look in his eyes and, well, Lance wouldn’t say he faltered, but it did throw him off. He expected anger, because c'mon, the guy came in two emotions: moody and mad. But... that expression kind of reminded him of his uncle's just before he sat Lance down to talk about why it was wrong of him to rip Old Yelling Yelder's sails; all serious and grim. “I don’t trust you."

“Keith…” sighed Shiro.

“No, Shiro.” He turned to direct the look at the dragon outside and he grew quiet. It made Lance a bit nervous that it would shut even Shiro up. Pidge seemed to agree seeing as how fidgety he became. “This is important. We need to talk about this _now._ ” Keith’s head swiveled back to him and his expression was _intense_ , as though he could drill a hole through his head with that look alone. Now that was a very gory and unpleasant thought.

“What? Why’re you looking at me like that?” Lance chuckled uneasily. “You thinking of murdering me? ‘Cause I’ll have you know, I’m a master at—”

By the way Keith’s eyes narrowed and how his jaw and fists tightened, his attempt to lighten the atmosphere wasn’t appreciated. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly the time for that. Lance could admit he had a bad habit of cracking jokes at funerals, so to speak, and he knew that most people didn’t really welcome that. It just slipped out sometimes anyway when he’s feeling jittery.

“Shiro isn’t just the Dragon or the Guardian of Glasycus. He’s Shiro. He has a life here and he’s important to the Odvirkast Mountains.” There was a tiny hesitation before he said Odvirkast and Lance wondered what he was going to say before he changed it. “And if your _loud mouth_ got around town about seeing him, it’s all over for him. People won’t stop until they find him. They’ll hunt him down like some _animal_.” Keith snarled the last word like it was a scur on Earth and it clicked.

Lance really _looked_ at Keith and he saw the tenseness around his shoulders and arms and the closed off expression as he spoke. Lance felt the annoyance sink to the pit of his stomach into oblivion to be replaced with the beginnings of understanding.

Oh… Keith was about to say “me” before he stopped himself. Shiro wasn’t just important to Odvirkast or Glasycus. He was important to Keith.

Lance understood that. He really did. He understood what it’s like to have people who were important, people who he wanted to protect. He had his family, his friends, and he watched Hunk’s back like Hunk watched his…

“I can’t let that happen and I don’t trust you to keep your trap shut,” Keith finished. 

Lance frowned at that. “I know how to keep secrets.”

“Really?” Keith challenged, crossing his arms. “Because you weren’t very convincing the both times I’ve met you.”

“But that was just normal conversation!” Lance couldn’t help but cry in exasperation. Well, as normal as it was with stupid Keith assaulting him both times but duh! “It’s not like I’m going to walk up to a bunch of random strangers and go, ‘Oh, by the way, the dragon in the mountains is real!’ That’s just stupid!”

“I don’t know. If Shiro hadn’t found us, you would’ve blabbed all the air out in under five minutes while we were trapped and that was life and death. Besides, how do I know you won’t go boasting about seeing Shiro for the fame it’ll give you?”

Lance spluttered. He didn’t even know where to begin with that.

“Yeah, if people didn’t think I’m nuts first! Besides, I don’t care about that kind of fame!”

He didn’t. All he wanted to do was make his family proud and selling out Shiro was definitely not something that’d do it. Besides, Shiro was… He was pretty cool and he helped him out. He owed him a _lot_ for Hunk’s and his own life. He wasn't about to repay him by ratting out his existence if he didn't want people to know. Nuh-uh. Not a chance.

“Guys, I hate to interrupt, but we’re not really getting anywhere,” Pidge piped up. “Look, the whole issue is whether we can trust Lance and his friend with the secret or not, right?”

Keith nodded.

“Well then, let’s just give them a chance. We can’t exactly know if someone’s trustworthy without getting to know them first. Besides, it’s not like they can really go anywhere any time soon in that state.”

“Pidge is right,” Shiro agreed. “It’s too early to pass judgement on anyone.”

Keith’s eyes ran from Shiro to Pidge almost defiantly. “And what if it turns out they aren’t trustworthy?”

There was a long pregnant pause at the question wherein Pidge fiddled with his feathers, looking like he wanted to argue but hesitated in uncertainty.

“… Then we still let them go,” Shiro finally answered and Lance found himself slightly overwhelmed by that. It was like he was saying that even if someone with less decent intentions caught more than a glimpse of him, he’d still release them even if it endangered his own life. That was…

“Are you serious about that, Shiro?” Pidge asked slowly.

Keith’s whole body was trembling at this point. He looked like he could be the human incarnation of Fel. Somehow, that didn’t make Lance want to laugh. Keith stormed out.

After a moment, Pidge tentatively asked, “Should we go after him?”

“No, leave him for now. I’ll go after him in a bit. Right now, he’ll want space,” Shiro said quietly.

“Okay… But were you serious, Shiro?” Pidge had a frown on as he adjusted his glasses.

“Very,” Shiro confirmed gravely. “Not every rescue I do is going to go smoothly. Someone’s bound to see me at one point. I know that and I accept that. The fact is that there’s nothing I can do if someone does spot me. It’s not like I can keep them from returning home, right?”

“True…” Though Pidge seemed conflicted over that.

“Can’t you just use magic to, I don’t know, wipe the memories from their minds?” Lance asked. He’d heard a lot of stories about how powerful the dragon’s magic was. Maybe he could do that.

Shiro chuckled though it sounded a bit helpless. “I could control the wind and air however I want and do lots of other things, but I’m afraid mind wipe is a bit out of my reach.”

“Besides, memory magic is super tricky and hard,” Pidge added. “Too risky to do something like that. If you’re not careful, you could accidentally wipe out whole chunks.”

“Oh… Yeah, okay, let’s not do that. I’d prefer to be able to remember my own name, thanks,” Lance joked, but it was sort of weak. Pidge still smiled a bit though so he wouldn’t say it was a total loss.

“I think a lot of people do. Speaking of names, let me introduce you to Rover.” Pidge gestured towards the floating rock and it chirped, the tune high and fast as it came closer to Lance. “He’s my golem I created to detect magical energy and life signatures.”

Lance tentatively put his hand up and when there were no objections, he ran his hand over the rough, rocky surface of Rover. “Cool. Is he like a pet?”

“Not really. He doesn’t eat or anything but he still does need maintenance sometimes. I created him from scratch.”

“Whoa, really? You think you could make me one too?”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

Neither noticed when Shiro slipped away from the clearing outside.  

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, writing Lance was hella fun.
> 
> So um, I don't know how many people care, but I've got a tumblr if you want to visit me or even if you just want to drop by to say a hello. I don't mind. I post random stuff; a lot of dogs and cats, funny pics, cute things, some gay, and just generally stuff that I find interesting. Thanks for reading!


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